This is probably the seminal 1980’s slasher film. Every convention of the genre is present: Secluded summer camp, teens hooking up, a mysterious murderer on the lose who always stages his bodies to be discovered in the most ridiculous ways, ingenious murders. The Burning has it all. In fact, it’s downright derivative in every way but contrary to popular belief, this script predates even Friday the 13th (even though everyone says this movie ripped off Friday the 13th).
It’s true, The Burning was released after Friday the 13th but that was only because of production timelines. So credit has to be given here. Of course, how much credit depends on how highly you respect the storyline of teenagers in the woods being killed by a psychopath. The script doesn’t fit together that well, especially the ending that tries to tie in the beginning but because none of the characters would actually know that information, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Still, there’s not a ton of logic to slasher in the woods films anyway so who cares?
Brilliant makeup man Tom Savini provides the gore effects (which are much better than many other films of the era) and the script was written by the Weinstein brothers (their big break into Hollywood). The creature makeup for “Cropsy” is pretty awesome and the glimpses of his severely burned figure work well. Whereas Friday the 13th and Halloween have genuine scares though, The Burning plays more like Meatballs (1979) until the bloody conclusion. Look for career launching roles by Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) and Holly Hunter (The Piano). Because it so completely reflects the genre, this is worth checking out.